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New technologies are appearing at an ever-increasing rate. And that is great news for the transportation industry. The ability to transfer perishable foods across the globe without compromising the integrity of the food is leading to an unprecedented growth of cold chain logistics.

However, the advances in technology in the field of containers with temperature control don’t limit themselves to food transport. Perishable medicine and biopharmaceutical products are also benefiting from the development of new refrigerated containers.

But focusing solely on transportation means can make people forget about the other important aspects. Namely, it is equally important to maintain cold chains with cold storage and refrigerated warehousing.

What Is Cold Storage

Any type of storage that involves controlling the temperature of a substance. It works to protect the substance from decaying or otherwise failing to maintain its integrity or adherence to regulations that apply to it.

Where Can Cold Storage Facilities Appear?

Cold storage facilities are extremely important for a lot of different industries. Due to that fact, many companies use cold storage facilities to store their products. There are three common variations of cold storage usages:

Manufacturer’s facilities— A product manufacturer might use cold storage to store products before sending them out to end users.

End users— It is very common for end users to purchase products that require temperature control in advance. In those cases, they keep the products in cold storage facilities until they decide to use the said products.

Third parties— A lot of companies outsource their cold storage needs. Third-party logistics providers usually have their own storage facilities. The products can remain in their cold storage units until the request to ship them to end users comes in.

The Complexity of Cold Storage

Cold storage requires a lot of accurate refrigeration. The regulation around refrigerated goods makes the entire process very complex.

The demand for the refrigerated foods is on the rise. And as that demand grows, so does the demand for repackaging, consolidation, and other value-added services.

Furthermore, clients of third-party logistics providers are expanding their list of demands. The reason for that lies in the fact that end users and retailers are learning to expect more from transportation companies. Some of the most common demands are proper traceability and high-quality pallet building.

While the increase in those expectations is improving the services, it is also hurting the profit margins of third-party providers. Namely, cold storage is showing signs of diminishing returns on investments for cold storage facilities. That is leading to them finding new ways to optimise their storage processes and warehouses

The Need for Customisation of Cold Storage Facilities

Not so long ago, most storage facilities worked with a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

With the wide variety of customers and their demands, providers are starting to create custom facilities for cold storage needs of their clients. That way, they can create efficient facilities that provide a better return on investment. However, that approach has its flaws. Namely, the clients have to remain with the providers a lot longer for the endeavour to be worth the costs. And locking down a client for a long period of time can be very difficult.

Different Goods Have Different Requirements

While dealing with the increasing demand from the clients can be difficult, meeting the requirements for different types of refrigerated foods can put even more strain on providers.

Different products need different temperatures for safe storage. Furthermore, they have varying shelf lives, and some products can spend a very short amount of time between transportation and the cold storage without spoiling.

Products such as flowers and plants, perishable foods and pharmaceutical products can be quite demanding in regard to their needs for temperature control.

And the natural requirements of certain goods are just the beginning. Safety regulations for each product demand different temperature levels.

Different Types of Cold Storage

Cold storage comes in various shapes and sizes. These are the most common ones:

Reefer Containers

One of the most versatile options for cold storage comes in the form of refrigerated containers. They are cost effective, portable and very energy efficient.

Blast Freezers and Chillers

Very common for larger food related businesses that need to quickly cool the food down to safe levels for storage or transportation.

On-site Cold Rooms

Cold rooms are larger more permanent variants of refrigerated containers, that are built inside the business’s premises.

Dedicated Custom Cold Storage Facilities

On-site storages can be very expensive to set up and operate. For that reason, a lot of companies look for dedicated custom cold storage facilities provided by third-party logistics providers.

Running cold storage facilities and refrigerated warehouses can be incredibly expensive due to their known inefficiency if not correctly insulated. This is why many businesses are now opting to use Reefer Containers for all of their Cold Storage needs.

The cold chain technology involves the transportation of products that are highly sensitive to temperature and a supply chain with thermal and refrigerated packaging methods. It includes the logistics and planning of how the products need to stay protected while being transported and stored until they reach the final customers.

Most people don’t know what goes on before products end up on a shelf in a store. What they don’t see is a complex shipping process of products they use daily, such as milk, meat, fish and even medicines that need to be handled with uttermost care, from the manufacturer to their neighbourhood supermarket. Read on, and we will introduce you to the whole cold chain process. Furthermore, we will also emphasise why renting portable cold store units, is better than using other cold storage solutions.

What is the Cold Chain and How Does it Work?

As most of these products may not stay fresh for too long, as their quality degrades with time, it’s important to do everything to prevent that scenario from happening. That might sound like a simple process; however, it’s definitely not. Needless to say, that any kind of delay or temperature variation may have a negative impact on the products in transport or storage. That’s why those who are in the medical, food or pharmaceutical industry tend to rely on the cold chain strategy.

The type of container and the refrigeration method play a major role in being able to ensure that the goods remain safe from temperature variations over an extended period of time.

Portable Cold Storage Units

The temperature in these Refrigerated Containers is under constant control. What’s more, thanks to their design and insulation, the air can circulate in accordance with the wanted temperature.

Reefers have become a common temperature-controlled means of transport and cold storage that companies use, in order to ensure load integrity. What you get is a cold unit that is able to accommodate a wide palette of temperature settings and many temperature sensitive products. Also, they are completely in line with the global intermodal transportation system. That means that there’s a high level of openness to markets worldwide.

Why Choose Reefers Over Other Cold Storage Solutions

There are many Cold Storage solutions from which you can choose one that will fit your needs. However, that choice will depend on numerous factors. Therefore, before making a decision, you need to ask yourself some crucial questions:

1.What is the volume of the products that you need to store?

2.How is it stored (in cases, on pallets, on shelves, etc.)?

3.What is the temperature you need in order to keep your product protected?

To give you a clear picture of the advantages of refrigerated containers, we’ll compare them to other cold storage solutions, such as walk-in freezers and cold facilities.

First off, unlike reefers, walk-in freezers aren’t mobile. Also, due to the size of these equipment’s, they are only suitable for storing food products on-premises.

Secondly, when it comes to cold storage facilities, you can face high costs and issues with accessibility. Also, chances are your cold storage facility won’t be anywhere near the place your products need to be transported to. Hence, you’re going to end up having to organise transportation, which will lead to spending even more!

So, unlike the previous two solutions we’ve mentioned, reefers are completely mobile. Additionally, reefers are easy to transport and easy to adjust. Essentially, if you go ahead and rent one of these units, you will get a solution that is ideal for any business. Regardless of the location and the temperature you need for your products, renting a reefer is a decision you won’t regret.

The use of cold storage units is becoming a common practice in the food market industry. Previous practices didn’t guarantee the right conservation of fresh products, but as technology has improved cold storage technology, these perishable goods can be delivered in their original state right from the source to their final destination/consumer. These refrigerated containers can also be moved around and placed inside or outside, perfect for both personal and business use.

The full list of benefits of working with cold storage units is nearly endless, but we’ll just list the top five more relevant ones to offer some awareness about how this tech is the way of the future.

Wide Range of Uses

One of the greatest features found on portable cold storage units are their temperature controls, andwhile the main use given to refrigerated containers is to safeguard food perishable goods that need certain temperature conditions, they can also be used by other industries to store another type of items. The medical industry for example uses them to keep their products and chemical compounds stable at a constant temperature at all times, even upon deliverance.

Cold storage units can keep these products under their ideal environmental conditions for as long as it’s needed since their control allow for specific settings (from as high as 30°C to as low as -30C°) that once set require little to no supervision.

Wide Range of Sizes

The different sizes (from 10ft to 45ft) available, their portability and ability to be combined to create custom-made units, makes them the perfect cold storage solution for any type of businesses, big and small.

Optimises Space

When you run a business, there’s no such thing as enough storage space, especially when you run a food-based operation such as a restaurant or as a frozen goods distributor. Portable cold storage units are a game changer in either of those markets, making the old cooler technology impractical due in part to space and heating issues. Modern cold storage units are built to offer state of the art performance, without generating excessive heat and by offering noise reduction features that won’t disturb the surroundings where the unit is located.

Accessibility and Backup

The use of the internal space on cold storage units is always left to the needs of the user in accordance with the demands of their business. Some businesses prefer to pack their units with shelf racks, while others just need to pile up their items in a specific way.

They are also a great solution if you need to secure your items or supplies against power outages. Being lined with the necessary hardware they will keep a cold environment for longer periods, unlike normal refrigerated units that without electricity, will gradually lose their cooling capabilities in a short period of time.

Saves Money

We all know that fruits and vegetables stored at room temperature can spoil quickly. With cold storage units, this will no longer be an issue because all these fresh products will be kept at the correct temperature and moisture levels, extending its shelf life and keeping spoils to a minimum. Restaurants for example can buy their supplies in bulk and store them for longer periods of time, this will help to minimise waste and consequently save money.

There are a number of industries that constantly need to store their items and products at certain temperatures to ensure their freshness, stability, and conditions. Most food and medicine companies are the main users of these types refrigerated container units.

Cold storage is often perceived as something exclusively for big businesses, but many small operators do require these services as well, this is why we offer our 10ft refrigerated container units, each with the same high-tech specifications and quality of our bigger 20ft and 40ft standard reefers but in a more compact size.

These units are usually best suited for smaller-scale operations that don’t require much space to keep their business running such as family-owned shops, catering businesses, small restaurants or convenience stores that deal with refrigerated goods and also for short term events such as weekend festivals due to their great portability.

A 10ft refrigerated container unit can help to solve a space problem on any business looking to expand their operation by conservatively increasing their storage space.

Companies can also maximise their available space on smaller premises by investing in more than one 10ft reefer. This way they can create the cold store capacity of a larger unit but spread across individual smaller ones.

In the following lines we’ll talk about some of the benefits that a 10ft refrigerated container unit brings to any business operation:

Keeping Everything Compact

A cold storage unit is the best solution to any business that has to deal with products that need special environments to keep their top quality at all moments (or active components in the case of medicines). A 10ft refrigerated container is compact and can be easily adapted to almost any business premises either inside or outside.

If you are the owner of a small store and your customer base increases due to any outside factor, you won’t have to consider tearing down walls and building extra space on your refrigeration unit. By adopting one of these modular units, you’ll be solving the cold storage problem efficiently while saving a lot of money. This technology is a sure-fire way to optimize space without hurting your profits.

Space-Efficiency Made a Reality

A 10ft refrigerating unit is one of the best options for catering services or any business in the food industry, especially if they are on-site service providers. There’s the option to store a good number of supplies to cover the needs of a single event or the stock you’ll need in accordance with a scheduled workload.

The special electronic panel on each unit will give you complete control of the temperatures that are needed to keep your ingredients protected at the ideal temperatures for you to work with them. By having the room to plan your assignments or menus you will be able to shop more efficiently and store just what you need without risking overstock and losses.

Fully Functional Portability

One of the greatest assets provided by a 10ft cold storage unit is the features related to portability. Since they are easier to transport and relocate in comparison to bigger size ones, it allows companies to improve and optimise their previous cold store conditions or transport the units to events and other places as needed.

Contact us for your cold store needs

These smaller, more compact refrigeration units provide an effective portable cold storage solution and are a winning asset and a game changer for many businesses. So, get in touch with us today to discuss the best configuration for your cold store needs.

One of the significant challenges of the pharmaceutical industry is the adequate transportation of vaccines, biomedicines, blood and other products that require temperature control to keep them safe.

From the manufacturing of the product until its arrival to the final consumer, many standards must be fulfilled to ensure that quality is kept intact, and this becomes even more relevant when talking about cold chain products. It safeguards the maintenance of the quality of the product with controlled temperature so that its active principle and final product do not change, compromising the effectiveness, efficacy, stability and physicochemical characteristics of the drug.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 50% of all vaccines produced worldwide reach their destinations deteriorated due to the breakdown of the cold chain. The biggest failure is in controlling the temperature (about 40%), compromising the quality of the product and causing possible health risks.

The control and monitoring of the temperature of the transported pharmaceuticals are one of the pillars of the integrity of the product.

To ensure the quality of clinical exams, raw materials, vaccines and other medicines, it is essential to take into consideration the recommendations of the manufacturers. In general, the suggestions are concerning acceptable temperature and humidity limits for transportation and storage.

There can be found temperature-sensitive medicines, ranging from 15 °C to 30 °C, or others requiring storage in a frozen environment, such as blood products. There are also others requiring a refrigerated climate, with temperatures of 2 °C at 8 °C, as vaccines and insulins, or those that need to be kept in a cooled environment, with the temperature varying between 8 °C and 15 °C.

The temperature control that is required, the delicacy of the product and its high added value are the main characteristics of the cold logistics in the pharmaceutical segment. This demands specific refrigeration chambers, temperature monitoring systems and specialized care in the elaboration of transport packaging, pallet handling and handling in general. In the case of biological medicines, there are also very delicate procedures from receipt to shipping and transportation, making the process even more complicated.

For this reason, it is crucial to have a reliable and professional supplier of Reefer Refrigerationequipment on hand when you need them.

At Fridge Rentals, we have a profound understanding of the pharmaceuticals industry. We supply high-quality equipment when you need it, and on the terms you need it. We include a 24/7 breakdown service in our contracts and have our own team of engineers who cover the whole of Ireland.

In the retail industry, it’s vital that you store your products in a temperature-controlled environment.

Renting a reefer container unit is an excellent way to extend the cold storage capacity for your retail establishment.

It is a well-known fact that the storage temperature of frozen and chilled foods reduces the risk of contamination and increases the time available for consumption.

The cold helps in the conservation of fresh foods and delays the emergence and development of organisms harmful to human health.

Therefore, it is essential that businesses that store and handle food pay careful attention to the conditions of the products they offer.

Many products, frozen and cooled, need special care for their proper conservation. In cases of loss, the losses are usually significant, since refrigeration equipment in retail establishments typically stores goods of various types and large quantities.

In this way, it is essential to try to minimize any occurrence with the cold chain in order not to generate any negative impact, both for the retailer and for the final consumer.

Here are some best practices and pieces of advice that should always be taken into consideration:

The minimum possible variation of temperatures of the products from their production to the table of the consumer must be guaranteed;

The products should be taken immediately to their storage place and should not be outside their ideal storage temperature;

Also, it’s crucial to take into consideration that different products have different cold storage temperatures needs. Fruits, vegetables, and meat should not be packed together in the same unit;

The place where the products are to be stored must be kept clean and sanitized;

It is critical that raw and cooked products are always stocked apart from each other while in storage. This prevents the risk of cross-contamination;

Items should be placed on shelves in an organized manner, never touching the walls or the floor and stacked in a way that allows adequate circulation of cold air;

Never store goods above the maximum capacity of each piece of equipment. This will trigger a higher requirement and will increase the chances of a crash. The consumption of electric energy also rises, and products may not be at optimal temperature;

Always make sure that the ‘best before’ labels of the products are properly displayed when storing and promote a good stock rotation. This way it reduces the chances of overdue products inside the cold equipment;

Maintain a constant and very frequent process of controlling the temperature of the cold equipment;

Always keep equipment doors closed or with minimum opening times and avoid sources of heat in the vicinity of cold storage equipment.

Globalization has notably influenced food structures and procedures around the world.

There is an increasing demand for global transportation for the distribution of goods around the world that are not available locally.

The world now has more significant accessibility, availability, and diversity of food attributed to factors such as increased people’s income, lifestyle change, trade liberalization, urbanization, more investment and market integration.

Have you ever wondered how perishable foods that can spoil easily like fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, can reach you practically farm fresh from the opposite corner of the world?

The answer is simple; they are delivered and stored in refrigerated shipping containers, which are also called reefer containers.

The modern technologies play a significant role to safeguard that the perishable commodities reach fresh at the desired destinations and also, fulfill the severe import protocols that differ from countries to countries.

Unlike a regular container that can heat up or freeze in line with the outside temperature, a reefer container is equipped with an integral refrigeration and ventilation unit that controls the temperature inside the container.

And it’s not just the temperature that is vital for the goods being stored in these reefer refrigeration units. Also, the air needs to be circulated in the right scale to ensure that everything is kept in perfect conditions.

What are the most significant features of a reefer container?

They are constructed to maintain the temperature, humidity, and atmosphere at a stable value.

Temperature can be regulated from + 35°C to –35°C.

Thet can supply and circulate fresh air to the inner area during the transportation.